The National Council of Resistance of Iran calls on Norway to push for UN inquiry into mass killings of Political Prisoners in Iran

Nov 4, Oslo: The Representative office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Nordic countries, on Friday, urged Norway to push for a UN commission of inquiry into exposing the mass killings of Political prisoners by the Islamic Republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini in July 1988.

This call for intervention comes after a Revelation of new details about the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners and details of more than 100 officials implicated, secret mass graves of political prisoners, came into light recently. "I would like to reiterate that a UN inquiry is long overdue. We urge Norway, renowned for its championship of human rights and its principles to play a leading role in demanding a UN commission of inquiry on this crime against humanity and putting an end to impunity by the Iranian regime’s officials," said Perviz Khazai, the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the Nordic countries.

According to him, it is very telling that the very same individuals who carried the 1988 massacre are continuing their crimes with impunity. The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the main organization of the Iranian resistance over the past three months has also revealed shocking information on the massacres inside Iran:

• Some 113of the most senior officials responsible for the 1988 massacre, whose names had remained secret for nearly three decades. These individuals were members of the "Death Commissions" in Tehran and 16 other Iranian provinces.

• Details of 213regime officials who carried out the massacre and were involved in carrying out the death orders in 35 cities throughout Iran.

• The names of Iranian institutions that are currently run by perpetrators of the 1988 massacre. One can hardly find a government institution in which those responsible for this crime against humanity do not hold senior positions.

Background

In late July 1988, the Islamic Republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini handed down a fatwa ordering the massacre of political prisoners. The fatwa's instructions were very simple. Any political prisoner who remained loyal to the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) had to be executed. 'Death Commissions' were formed in more than 70 cities. They included a religious judge, prosecutor and a representative of the Intelligence Ministry. In the space of a few months, some 30,000 political prisoners who were serving their prison sentences, including persons as young as 14 and pregnant women, were massacred.

In early August 2016, an audio recording of Khomeini's former heir, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, protesting to members of the Death Commission brought to light new dimensions of this massacre and shocked Iranian society. For nearly three decades, Tehran had tried to keep the massacre a secret, but this situation has changed in recent weeks and the issue has turned into a serious political and social crisis affecting the most senior officials of the regime.

"As tragic as this crime against humanity has been, what makes the issue more relevant is the fact that scores of the officials who were responsible for it are at the helm of institutions in Iran and hold some of the most senior positions," said Khazai.

Meanwhile, the latest report by the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, presented to the UN General Assembly in October, has shown that the regime continues to systematically kill political prisoners as there were some 1,000 executions in 2015; the highest number in the past 20 years.

Mass graves across Iran

The resistance has also claimed the existence of mass graves across Iran, where the victims were buried in mass graves all over the country. "The total number of mass graves in which the victims were buried is not known, but the existence of dozens of them is without doubt. We have managed to confirm the existence of these mass graves in at least 12 Iranian provinces including Tehran. In many cases, several mass graves have been identified in the same province", said Khazai.

The Resistance over the years has helped in creating public pressure against executions in Iran. While talking to The Oslo Times International News Network, Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) stated that the Resistance's activities have led to tremendous public pressure at home and abroad on the Iranian regime over the scope of the executions in recent months.
"This has been particularly the case since the revelation in August of an audio recording regarding the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran".

He also informed that the audio file was released on the website of the late Iranian cleric Hossein Ali Montazeri, who had been poised to take over for Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini before being ousted from the regime over his opposition to the massacre and related abuses.

In the recording, dating mid-August 1988, Montazeri has decried participants in the massacre for committing ‘the greatest crime of the Islamic Republic.’ He also detailed some of the worst aspects of the massacre, including executions of teenagers and pregnant women. The revelation broke a taboo in Iran and the Iranian government was unable to prevent the recording from spreading after its initial release, and the effect has been unprecedented awareness and discussion of the nearly three-decade-old massacre throughout Iranian society," he said before adding that the regime’s paranoia and anxiety regarding growing pressure is quite evident from some the recent maneuvers and hollow shows by the regime to reduce the pressure and to evade social and international pressure.

Meanwhile, the rate of executions in Iran is on a rise. According to the latest report by the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, presented to the UN General Assembly in October, there were some 1000 executions in 2015; the highest number in the past 20 years.